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HISTORY OF BELIEF PART THREE

Belief must have intelligence substance to support it. It was Albert Einstein who coined the phrases “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new” and “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.  For those of you who missed HISTORY OF BELIEF PART ONE, click HERE and HISTORY OF BELIEF PART TWO, Click HERE. You will need the background in advance of…

STUDY CONCLUSION

Any study of success can be emotive as some will feel they are being undermined if part of the past. Paranoia and insecurity are symptoms of the lack of belief. Embracing change can be a challenge. Belief itself is almost impossible to measure.  For my part the belief is concrete and steadfast.  The case studies are ones that I am very familiar with (Windgap and Piltown). In reality, the ones I am most qualified to analyse. No point in talking about things you don’t really know, unless you admit that you don’t really know. Honesty is the always the first step. I will always believe unwaveringly that both clubs have the ability to challenge competitively at the highest level for sustained periods of time and not just in the short terms of the past.  However, the study results can be applied to any club in any county or even any team sport where success has been sparse at the highest levels.

Firstly, it is important to rule out some myths given as reasons for the lack of sustained success by using as much science or maths as is possible. Let’s first of all recall the figures. Windgap was formed in 1954 (70th year in existence) 54 years of those have been spent in the Junior grade (77%). Piltown was formed in 1953 (71st year in existence) 55 years of those have been spent in the Junior grade (77.5%). It is clear and beyond doubt both clubs have a pretty much identical record.

POPULATION

Windgap will often refer to population. There is no doubt Windgap is a small parish population wise. In the 2022 census the population was stated as 475. The 33rd highest in Kilkenny. Only Conahy [Shamrocks] and Glenmore have less.
[Note: Mooncoin, Graignamanagh and Freshford all have two clubs in their parish so cannot be spilt using the Census]
In contrast Piltown lie 7th overall after the 2022 census with a population of 4139, 9 times more than Windgap.  Just the City clubs, Slieverue, John Lockes and Thomastown have more. The most successful club in Kilkenny in modern times, Ballyhale [Shamrocks] have 1329 (3 times more than Windgap and 3 times less than Piltown).  It is very clear considering the difference in populations that population is not a factor unless you wanted to make the unscientific suggestion that one has too many and the other too little. Population factor is the first myth.

UNDERAGE SUCCESS

Both clubs have had random well celebrated and worthy juvenile successes. Over the years Windgap have generally completed the lower Roinn’s, C, D and even E. Most recently winning a primary schools title. In latter years they have competed at higher levels including Roinn A thanks to their amalgamation with Galmoy [population 779]. Without Galmoy they would still be at the lower levels and history is hard to argue against in that respect. On the other hand, Piltown have at least been very competitive in Roinn B, with a few Roinn A successes as well. Competing competitively at Roinn B juvenile over a number of years should translate into similar at adult Intermediate level. Bar a period in the 80’s, this has not been the case. Again, it is clear that both clubs compete in contrasting juvenile and development competitions. It is very hard to say with any conviction that is a common factor in their subsequent adult competition level.

POST PRIMARY SCHOOLS

When it comes to Post Primary, a key component of any player development, the vast majority of Piltown players leave the county for schools in Carrick-On-Suir and Waterford. On the other hand, Windgap have a split between Carrick-On-Suir and Kilkenny schools including Callan and the famed St. Kierans College that has almost always been the dominant post primary school (23 All-Ireland senior titles). Piltown have had very few attend the great alma mater over the years while Windgap past and present have had many more. The Post Primary school profile for the clubs again differs considerably. The adult profile, very similar.

DEVELOPMENT SQUADS

Developments Squads are seen by many as a huge ground for developing young players in Kilkenny over the years. Between 2007 and 2022 (the years I spent as a development squad coach), Windgap had 29 players involved in various levels of development squads from Under-14 upwards. For the same period Piltown have had 43 players, almost 50% more.  In that period no Piltown player and only one Windgap player went on to play a competitive game for Kilkenny Senior hurlers. We clearly cannot use development squad involvement as a factor. Yet another myth.

FITNESS

How many times have you heard when the last knockout match is played and your team is finished, “they weren’t fit enough!”? I am sure almost every year unless the title has been won.  Going back to the 80’s, Windgap and Piltown have brought in fitness trainers mainly from outside the parish.  They were once known as fitness trainers or physical trainers, some just as Coach. Now commonly referred to as S&C (Strength and Conditioning) coaches. The term doesn’t make them any different to the many who went before them. They are no better or no worse than the lads that went before them, despite the courses and education. It would be wrong to suggest otherwise. The thing is then and now, the guy in the next club is most likely doing exactly the same “programmes” as they are now known as. The big difference today is the monetary cost to the club volunteers fundraising. A lot of coaches now see these as a nice side earner rather than a hobby. Very few are concerned with the long-term development within the clubs. Their main concern is potential CV growth rather than the love of the club and the game.

Over the last four decades, since outside coaches became a common thing, Piltown and Windgap probably have had a combined total fitness coaches numbering about forty. I dread to think of the total cost, but that is irrelevant to this case study.  I have no doubt there has been a wide variety, all genuinely trying to achieve victory even if the end game was their own personal ego. Over the years Windgap have won two junior titles (1 in the last 40 years) and Piltown won three (2 in the last 40 years).  The combined county title total is small, (5 in 149 completed campaigns – 2 before the era of outside coaches and 3 afterwards). To blame fitness is an insult to the many fitness trainers over the years, many of whom who have spent a lot of effort on education and many who have had some success elsewhere. It is the lazy man’s excuse for the lack of success at a point in time. They used the best fitness methods at the time. Every team was as well-prepared fitness wise as is possible, but the silver was rarely attained. There have been so many of them since the 80’s and so many different teams, therefore the fitness excuse is clearly a myth. The club administrators couldn’t have got it wrong so many times, that the fitness or S&C coaches weren’t good enough, could they?

MYTHS

Population, underage success, post-primary success, development squad involvement and fitness all debunked as reasons for the lack of success based on indisputable numbers and facts. Yet, instinct says they must be factors. For example, doing no fitness training will certainly not change history and win you anything.  I suppose its like making that special cake for that special occasion.  The best cake will always have that very special ingredient which makes all the others become special when mixed. You can buy the one in the supermarket, but it will not have that special ingredient. If you always have being buying the one from the supermarket and you like it, fair enough but it will never win you the baking competition. Change is required “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. 70 years should be an indicator of what is required.  Something different needs to be tried. It may not work but remember, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new”.

BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF SUCCESS

No matter what you do in life, for it to be successful, you must have a solid foundation. That is my belief. They are lots of varying factors in a club or community situation starting with the meaning of success, what it is to the how, who and why. My experience in clubs and communities over the years has given me an ever-expending knowledge of what is required.

During Covid, I developed a workshop BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF SUCCESS. I recently delivered it to Piltown Ladies Gaelic Football club as a pilot and the feedback has been positive. It is designed to set your own creative minds flowing because everyone is the master of their own destiny.  Arousing thoughts that will lead your club up the pathway for success, creating an underlying culture suitable for a foundation of that success.  It is aimed at coaches, administrators, adult players, parents and is suitable for all codes and grades. Please feel free to Share.

In the bible, Jesus said, “A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his hometown and with his own people and in his own home.” [Mark 6:4]. This is something I am well aware of. However, if you see something of merit in what is written here and in some of my other blogs, please feel free to contact me and I can compile and facilitate a version personalised for your club. Unlike many other coaching workshops or anything coaching for that matter, I will deliver and facilitate free to any club in any code in Kilkenny. Please feel free to check out my own COACHING credentials, though this is very different to what you would normally associate with physical coaching workshops.  There will be no cones. [Max 20 per session]

The question should always be asked, what qualifies you to do this? It’s a fair question. The only answer, is that I love the games and have participated as a player, including a substitute, coach, administrator, match official and a supporter over many decades.  Does your S&C coaching course make your more qualified? It certainly won’t be more varied.

This is the final instalment of my HISTORY OF BELIEF blog.  Hopefully it will bring purposeful thought and debate which will help your club or community in achieving success.  Not just the ones I have had the experience of. As always, I welcome comment. Remember no one person has all the answers. I certainly don’t. Maybe YOU have solutions of your own. Maybe YOU disagree and can offer alternative explanations for the factual figures.

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HISTORY OF BELIEF PART TWO

You believe something is right, you must have substance and facts behind it, to support it. James Bond creator Ian Fleming is credited with the phrase; “Once Is Chance, Twice is Coincidence, Third Time’s A Pattern”.   For those of you who missed HISTORY OF BELIEF PART ONE, click HERE. You made need the background.

CASE STUDY 2

In 1992, having come back from Dublin, I got married and moved to Fiddown, I became a Piltown player, (The parish of my wife and my mother). I did not break into the Piltown main team other than for challenges and tournament games over the couple of years I wore the amber jersey.  Disappointing but life is not a fairy-tale or the fiction I write as a writer (that has happy endings!). However, those games I did play, my scoring average record was second to none. It did not match my senior championship record of a goal a game with Windgap, but it was on average a goal or the equivalent in points every second game. All from play. However, it never lured the attention of a number of Piltown selection committees. 

Piltown were an Intermediate team when I came back from Dublin, having lost three Intermediate County finals in the eighties. In 1992, that was all about to change. Piltown had a poor run in the League with defeats to John Lockes, Carrickshock, Young Irelands and O’Loughlin Gaels.  They had a lone but impressive win against Bennettsbridge by 6-13 to 2-12.  Following the inter county championships, Piltown were to play John Lockes again in the knockout championships.  Piltown did not fulfil the fixture.  A decision made in a Piltown meeting room. Unlike Windgap, I was not there and do not know the scientific thinking behind the decision which I did for the Windgap decision. It was believed to be due to injury of a player on inter-county duty. I wasn’t involved, so cannot be sure of the validity of the cases being made. Hard to believe, a team could not be fielded with all the hurlers in Piltown. I would have played.  However, it was too early in my Piltown career to be involved in the politics. Though from the outside and with my Windgap experience as that stage over a decade old, I did not believe it was the correct decision, so let’s examine what has happened in the meantime.

Subsequently, the County Board awarded the game to John Lockes despite an appeal from Piltown and so began the relegation fight.  The semi-final was lost to Glenmore comprehensively. Then Piltown faced Bennettsbridge in the relegation final, the team that they had easily beaten in the league. The board room decision though had changed the culture of confidence and belief.  Piltown lost the relegation final by 1-6 to 2-17 and the junior ranks beckoned for 1993. Although it could be argued in Piltown’s case it was not the relegation final itself that was lost off the field, results highlighted the affect. It was still a coincidence that just as I was about to start with a new first team (although history showed it never materialised), the team lost a match in a meeting room and long term affects reverberate to this day.  Is the coincidence that I was a jinx?  There is no real science in that, is there?

The science is looking at results in the intervening 30 years. Like Windgap, Piltown got a short-term bounce when they won the junior in 1996, beating Dicksboro 0-11 to 1-3. This was followed by three consecutive appearances in the Intermediate Relegation Final, losing the third in 1999 to Rower Inistioge by 1-10 to 2-15 and hence a return to the Junior ranks.  Another bounce came in 2003 when the Junior was won again, after two attempts they beat St. Patricks, Ballyragget.  It went on to be a springboard for Piltown’s greatest hurling day on the field of play when they beat St. Vincent’s of Dublin in the Leinster Junior Club Final (the first Kilkenny club to do so) a competition that did not progress to an All-Ireland series at that stage. However, again it was a short-term bounce with Piltown losing the 2005 Intermediate relegation final to James Stephens’ second team by 0-9 to 2-11.  Piltown have been junior ever since. 

In the 30 years since Piltown conceded a vital game, they have spent 24 years (80%) in the junior ranks.  Windgap in the 43 years since they conceded a vital match, have spent 37 years (86%) in the junior ranks.  An additional statistic of interest is related to the great Brian Cody and his unprecedented 22-year reign as Kilkenny Senior Hurling manager winning 11 All-Ireland titles. Nine (9) Kilkenny clubs did not provide a player to those victorious teams.  Windgap and Piltown are two! The others for the anoraks, are Cloneen, Carrigeen, Threecastles (all parish subsets), Graignamanagh another of a similar disposition. Lisdowney (possibly a surprise), and other long term junior clubs, Galmoy and Slieverue.

The club meeting room decisions maybe a coincidence but is there a pattern?  Some might argue that both Windgap and Piltown would have been relegated anyway and in Piltown’s case they had two chances to rectify it. Obviously from a science, we will never know. In psychology, a “trigger” is a stimulus that causes a painful memory to resurface. A trigger can be any sensory reminder of the traumatic event: a sound, sight, smell, physical sensation, or even a time of day or season.  Is the concession of a game the scientific trigger that affects the cultural and inherited confidence required to compete successfully at the top level?  Here we are more interested in an establishment of a pattern because of a past event.

So, is there a pattern using the Ian Fleming adage? Between, the foundation of the GAA and up to and including 1920, Tipperary won 4 Senior Football All-Ireland Championships.  They were considered a very strong football county at the time. In 1921, they gave Mayo a walkover in the All-Ireland Semi-Final.  They have NOT won a Senior Football All-Ireland Championship since! Over 100 years ago! A century plus! Now that’s 3! There’s a pattern. Tipperary too have had a couple of bounces to compete including a recent semi-final appearance, but nothing of great significance.  The thesis now has supporting evidence at inter-county level.  There is a pattern. A pattern of culture. Easy submission becomes part of what you are.

The conclusion is that easy concession leads to a long-term culture of acceptance of your place in the roll of honour.  No matter who it is, it is not easy to fix or break the cycle. Those involved will always deny that it is there, but just because you can not see the wind, it does not mean it does not exist or can have a major effect.

Human nature, means that in many cases the highlighting of such thinking, is negative despite representing the facts in numbers to support.  The first step in recovery for any addict is to admit there is a problem. This is the hardest part of recovery.  Next is to believe in a higher power (in whatever form) can help.

So, in HISTORY OF BELIEF PART THREE (next month’s blog), I will try to come up with some scientifically based reasons for the longevity of the culture and maybe offer some solutions.   Everybody wants solutions and ways to break the cycle. Feel free to post your suggestions in the meantime or any other examples. There are lots of teams that might benefit, not just the ones mentioned here. Maybe YOU have solutions of your own. Maybe YOU disagree and can offer alternative explanations for the factual figures.  Whatever, feel free to comment.

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HISTORY OF BELIEF PART ONE

You stick your neck out and make a prediction. The truth is only history will confirm if you are right or wrong.  Even then, you can never really prove your point of view beyond all doubt as due to circumstances beyond your control, the thesis was never tested. However, having the belief, the firm belief, in the first place and with the benefit of history, there can be a substantial support for your viewpoint.  Things would have been better had your opinion prevailed.  Strong belief in anything is a culture, but only has value if it has integrity. High standards are also a culture. Belief in high standards is a massive culture which undermined at any point in history can have lasting repercussions.

CASE STUDY 1

24th August 1980, I made my Senior hurling championship debut in Piltown for Windgap.  It was the relegation play off final versus Mooncoin.  I got my opportunity as a number of the senior squad members didn’t want to play the game and wanted to demote the club down to the Intermediate grade. Reasons will follow. Regardless, I was excited for the opportunity to start at midfield (later moving to corner forward) and was planning to derail any thoughts of easy surrender on the field of play, the day after my first shave. My father and my sister were there to support. Despite what would have been considered an understrength Windgap team, we were only three points down entering the dying stages. I had worked hard but with very little reward. However, I had the belief I could do something to turn the game. Time was running out though. The final whistled beckoned when the ball broke to me just include the “21” as it was known in those days. (21 yards now known as 20 metres). The ball came to hand. I rounded the defender and facing me was the Mooncoin goalkeeper, Ned Quinn (Later to become a very successful chairman of Kilkenny County Board). I took aim and with a rocket of a shot hit the back of the net.  Ned pucked out the ball and the final whistle was blown. A draw, Windgap 3-7, Mooncoin 2-10.  No extra time. A replay would be required.  I was elated, my senior championship debut and a relegation saving goal. The future looked bright for me.  It felt good. The man or more appropriately, the boy who saved Windgap from Senior relegation!

The debate between the senior members who were very surprised we got a draw, and those who wanted to fight to remain senior status continued.  They were very concerned we would win the replay. My personal belief, now looking forward to an illustrious senior hurling career, was that we had to fight to stay senior, Play the games to the best of our ability on the pitch, not off the pitch. Maybe at some stage ability will see us intermediate or worse, but let’s have a culture that does not involve defeatism and easy surrender. The opposite view was that we have some very good young players coming through the ranks and it would be better to develop them at Intermediate level and then get back up to be competitive at senior level. Especially as it was now an aging senior team who were struggling to be competitive at the top table of Kilkenny hurling. On Monday 20th October 1980 in Piltown National School, a meeting took place. Thirteen people were in attendance including myself. The topic, simple, should we play the upcoming relegation playoff replay against Mooncoin. The result was a resounding 12-1 in favour of conceding the match and opting to go back Intermediate. I was the lone dissenting voice.  It serves no purpose to identify the others.  Some have passed, some still very much involved, some no longer involved.  It was democracy. Can’t really argue with it. When you are competitive and lose, it always hurts. Hindsight though, says I was given a very special opportunity. As a young fresh faced 17-year-old, I was allowed the floor to make a case. I wonder how many clubs allow their young lads that sort of platform? How many clubs give their young people the confidence to speak and forward argument? Even today when society, talks so much how they value the input of young people.  How many young people are really listened to? I may not have been heeded, but at least I was given the opportunity by the elders of the day. For every negative there is always a positive. This for me was one, the main one with the value of hindsight. That and the fact that my senior club championship goal scoring records stands at an average of a goal a game, probably one of the best in Kilkenny hurling, if not the best!

Was it the right choice for Windgap looking back with the benefit of hindsight?  Four years later in 1984, Windgap lost the Intermediate relegation final to Young Irelands by 4-2 to 2-14.  However, in 1986, Windgap won the junior final county final in Nowlan Park beating Danesfort by 1-11 to 2-1. This was probably Windgap’s greatest ever day as it was the only main adult final Windgap have ever won on the field of play having been awarded the 1970 final in the board room. The second stint in Intermediate lasted two years until they lost the 1988 relegation final to St. Lachtains of Freshford by 0-8 to 1-7. They have been junior since. So, in the 43 years since that meeting in Windgap National School, they have spent 37 in junior, six in Intermediate, none in senior.  That statistic would have read at least one more in senior had my belief been heeded. I’m sure there will be varied views as to what would have happened. 

Check in next month for HISTORY OF BELIEF PART TWO when another case study might enlighten further.

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GIVE IT A CHANCE

This has been a momentous week, with this website getting its 10,000th visitor.  Huge appreciation to anyone who gave the time to come visit since 2017.  At the end of the day, the target has always been drama and theatre groups, publishers and on the off-chance, filmmakers and producers. I’m not sure I’ve hit my intended audience yet and that’s where I hope this website goes from here.  To this end, I’m trying to come up with an improved social media strategy. This apparently means you cannot be modest about what you do. This is proving a big challenge mentally for me. So, in advance, apologies for any tone of arrogance. I also welcome any advice that will help me promote my work.

FALSE DAWNS

As I writer, my main aim is not monetary. Instead, it is to bring meaningful and entertaining stories to as many people as possible. There have been so many false dawns in this business. Just when you think you have broken into the drama and theatre groups circle, it all disappears.  I was really chuffed during Covid  when Barnstorm Theatre from Kilkenny included my Love In Lockdown contribution, the Power of Love in its 2021 lockdown streaming shows.  Feedback was wonderful. Again, so when it was included in the live performances at the Home Rule Club in 2022. I am really appreciative of all those involved in Barnstorm who made it happen, the directors, and all the actors.  So chuffed with the end product on both occasions.  I thought it might be the beginning of a fantastic run. However, almost a year after the live performances, there has been no follow up. Like so many times in the past, the dawn was false.

NEVER GIVE UP

I know that despite so many past disappointments, it is not in my nature to give up. I must keep trying. Let’s be honest, as I head towards retirement I am probably only coming into my peak as a Writer. The best is yet to come, but I would like to see a clear runway before I really take off!

SAFE OPTIONS?

I find it very demoralising when I see all the local theatre and drama groups going with the same old same old.  How often when it comes to selecting a play do they pick an old John B Keane or a “Playboy of the Western World” or a Brian Friel or a Walter Macken?  If the audience saw the same show being constantly repeated on television, they would quickly tune out and look for a new channel with new material.  They’d wonder why their audience is not growing when it is simple… They have seen it before!

They are also setting themselves up for comparison with previous efforts at the same scripts and production that have been produced over and over again.  In addition, how do these constant repeats attract new people to the theatre? There needs to be new audience members, and not have all the young people drawn away by the lure of the CGI of Marvel and DC comics where the story is secondary. I would say for local drama groups it is getting harder and harder to get people involved especially young people.  They need plays they can relate to. You can still have old, but the material needs to be fresh.  Again if it were movies on television, it is very hard to get young people to watch a black and white movie, regardless of how good it is.  We all know there are some really brilliant black and white movies, But that doesn’t mean young people will watch them. For theatre you need to get them in the door first.  Sometimes, that could be as simple as picking material from a new local writer (who might even be known in other fields, such as the GAA).   This is a category I would fit into in the South-East of Ireland.  The story is very important, and I love the story. It’s number one for me. I am a traditionalist, but new at the same time. A paradox I know, but that’s what I am.

DRAMA AND THEATRE GROUPS

Therefore, if YOU are involved in a drama or theatre group and looking for material, please check out my scripts (link below). I have full, one-act and short in my library.  Really would love to hear from anyone in the South East of Ireland, especially County Kilkenny or South Tipperary and Waterford for that matter.  I have some really good locally based material that is just crying out for a local performance.  I would also welcome interest from the USA, with a few historical plays based in the USA.  Take a Chance, have a read.  Plays are only a collection of words until they are brought to life and performed. Give the stories life.  You can do it!  Give it a chance!

PLAYS

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FOOTBALL RULES!

The title of the February blog sounds like a piece of graffiti, doesn’t it?…  But no,  it is more about some of the regulations that govern our national games. One of which affects hurling also and being from Kilkenny, Hurling still rules! Smiley face.

BLACK CARD

Firstly, that Black Card! What a unnecessary addition to the rule book it was.  Again, at the weekend, I was watching the Mayo v Galway National league tie on TG4. Yes, Kilkenny people do have an interest in Gaelic Football.  It was a great start to the game with one of the best ever goals scored by Mayo’s James Carr. It was fast and open and end to end. Very entertaining.  Then after about fifteen minutes, Galway who were leading by one point had a player black carded.  Rightly so based on the rules. This was followed by ten minutes of drivel. Boring, slow, possession football. Of course, then there was the minimum touch of a player to give away a free and goodness knows you’d think the player was lucky to be alive as he killed the elapsed time for his team. Yes, brilliantly controlled by Galway, but in my opinion the game never recovered to the entertaining levels that it had started with.  

All Gaelic Football Managers know now what to do when their team is ahead and one of their players is black carded for the requisite ten minutes.  It’s no longer a surprise. Their job is to win the game and they are not breaking any rules. Morally its terrible. Entertainment wise it is horrible in the extreme, though they would argue they are not there to entertain.  The fee paid on the gate would suggest otherwise.  There has to be some onus to entertain the paying customer. Players are coached to manage the game in this way should the black card occur. Personally, I couldn’t say I wouldn’t do it, but to put the moral pressure on a player is a big call. A player who is a winner and wants to deliver as many top plays as possible and top it with scores. It is a dilemma for the purist who are there to enjoy  the sport in a free flowing style. It is not really sporting but it can be the prudent thing to do to win the game. Does morals or intelligence supersede?

Take the Black Card out of the equation and give a Yellow Card for the offence.  I don’t believe you would have the same result as the yellow card only affects the culprit. The game would still flow. The Black Card was introduced to wipe out cynicism in the game especially in the dying moments. We all remember the infamous Sean Kavanagh (Tyrone) incident.  However, in my opinion, the black card was not needed, there was enough in Yellow and red. It was just adding another layer of complexity to the already over worked official’s roster. The only thing that needed to be added was that if, in the view of the referee, it is a goalscoring opportunity, it should be an automatic red. If it was a point scoring opportunity, yellow would be sufficient, because you’d expect handing the ball to your dedicated free taker without someone trying to stop them would be a better guarantee than any other player or the free taker themselves being tackled. If it was a second offence, it is automatically red. The punishments were there and less likely to disrupt a very good match and teams could still be reduced but game management becomes a bigger challenge when it is permanent.  As it is, the reward of punishing someone with a black card is now the punishment of the paying patrons as they endure poppycock football while the team game manage for 10 minutes.   But lets spare a thought for the player who takes the soft hit that almost kills him during that period.  He took it for the team, but forever should be remembered as “soft”.

SIXTEEN PLAYERS

The other issue which has got a lot of social media airtime in the last week or two was the final moments of the All-Ireland Club football final between Kilmacud Crokes and Glen. Last ’45 of the game for Glen. Kilmacud lead by two points.  Kilmacud bring on two substitutes but only one player comes off leaving sixteen players defending. The ’45 is taken and successfully defended. The whistle blows. Kilmacud lift the cup, but everyone is immediately aware of an issue involving player numbers albeit too late to rectify withing the confines of the match.

Whether the blame lies with the officials, the Kilmacud management or the Kilmacud player who did not leave the field of play. It is irrelevant. A rule is broken! Blame does not matter, even less than had the goalkeeper made a howler to concede a goal. The rule in this case is straightforward, you cannot have more than fifteen players on the pitch.

The punishment is one of three options. Firstly, a fine. This was never going to be an option for Kilmacud who are seen as a huge club with huge resources.  A fact that was not hidden during earlier controversial transfer issues, which to be fair is irrelevant also, although it does affect public sentiment, especially rural teams. Next there was forfeit the game.  This was in my opinion and in many others, too much on the basis of the crime.  This only left the middle ground of a replay. If Kilmacud officials left Croke Park after the game and did not realise this was a very strong possibility under the circumstances, then they are guilty of not familiarising themselves with the rules and consequences of the game. I very much doubt this is the case.  It was not a surprise to anyone, the course of events.

Most social media “experts” (amazing how many of them want to highlight their ignorance) are giving out about the length of time it took to rule on a replay.  Once the game was ended by the referee, due process kicks in. GAA rules kick in and again every club official in the country understands the process, or should do. Glen was given time to gather information and decide a course of action.  The GAA authorities had to wait and follow the process which is akin to a legal process. When the ruling was made, the same curtesy is given to Kilmacud Crokes to counter the ruling.  Like every legal process it is a laborious process. However, it is a process aimed at fair play in light of unfortunate circumstances. The vast majority of GAA administrators who work night and day for the organisation understand the process as well as many true GAA supporters.  The social media “experts” should expend their energy more productively in becoming administrators to appreciate the process rather than ranting embarrassingly. Especially the ones who tell what they’d do with their ”medal”.  Seriously!  What are the chances? Wonderful Imagination as well.

It is unfortunate, but blame does not come into it. It happened and action has to happen.  Will Glen want a replay and the possibility of being beaten a second time? Will Crokes want a replay and the possibility of not winning within the rules? Only they know.  The circumstances suggest they both need to do it again to exercise the ghosts and hopefully, the winners this time, can enjoy guilt free celebrations.

Sport is behaving in a good or specified way in response to teasing, defeat, or a similarly trying situation.  Sometimes people forget about sport when it comes to gathering roll of honour listings. Let’s remember GAA is sport.

If you enjoyed reading this blog please share on social media and follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Your comments are always welcome.

Posted on No Comments on PRIDE OF THE PARISH

PRIDE OF THE PARISH

Pride of the Parish!  How much does it exist anymore in the GAA?  Joe Brolly in a recent Irish Independent article stated that the “GAA hierarchy have allowed our game to become professional for everyone except the player”. The article goes on to suggest “only a club man could manage his club and only a county man could manage his county”. Big and bold suggestion in the present day.

Whether you agree with the infamous Joe or not, it does invite thorough consideration and what it means for the GAA, now and in the future.  In doing so it is also worth remembering why the GAA was formed. It was founded on the 1st November 1884, in Hayes Hotel, Thurles by a group of spirited Irishmen who had the foresight to realise the importance of establishing a national organisation to make athletics more accessible to the masses and to revive and nurture traditional, indigenous sports and pastimes.  The organisation is based around the traditional parish and county structures of Ireland. As a community-based organisation, it is often stated that it is difficult to determine where the community ends and the GAA club starts, as the two are so often intertwined. The GAA has over 2,200 clubs in all 32 counties of Ireland, not to mention the many branches all over the world catering for the Irish diaspora and non-Irish too.  The principle of parish and county has served the organisation well in the main for the past 139 years.

Yes, there has always been issues about physical boundaries and yes of course people moved into areas for reasons of work and marriage in the main. However, in the past they became part of their adopted community, not just the GAA, but the community also as they were intertwined.  They may have had a soft spot for the parish/county of their birth but they were proud to row in fully behind their adopted home. Their adopted Pride of the Parish. Traditionally, the elite of the game have gone to other locations to promote and nurture the games in true GAA ethos and have always been welcomed in true Irish fashion for that short interval before they return to their true parish/county.  It was imperative for the growth and promotion of the games.  All the above were sound principles for a community organisation to develop and flourish.  The tribalism of the parish/county rule was well suited to the Irish culture and heritage.

Have we now, possibly unwittingly, reached a new juncture of decision and direction?  The organisation which once proudly boasted of being amateur, now headlines with the term “professional” and not just professional in approach which in itself, has many merits in the modern world. Is it right? Once it was only the referee and the landowner that got paid.  Now it’s the managers, the coaches, the S&C coach in particular, the psychologists, the doctors, the physios, the logistics co-ordinators, the kit minders, the county secretaries, the performance development officers, the gym owners, and all the ancillary stakeholders. Some of which are obviously essential.  Of course, this is not true across the board that all these people get paid.  Ask the Camogie, the Ladies Football, the weaker hurling and football counties, but it is a trend with more and more counties/codes following that trend. Yet, it maybe the right way to go, especially if you subscribe to the notion that the GAA is now an industry similar to horse racing. An Industry that could be sustained and provide a living to many people by taking advantage of the wonderful suite of game products the organisation provides, promotes and was founded to promote.  The profits could benefit so many Irish people should the product continue to grow. Maybe the current GAA hierarchy are no different in their outlook to those spirited men of 1884 as they push the products to the next level. Maybe there is a case at the elite level, in particular, to become a genuine sports industry with profits and losses and potential liquidation and receivership should an individual business fail.

In industry, sometimes pushing the product can also damage the brand and the foundation upon which it was built. Joe Brolly’s reference to only the players not being allowed to become professional is one for which I cannot agree, but the payments are becoming more widespread and worryingly at club/parish level they continue to grow across all codes. At the moment, almost every club is paying a manager, a coach and a physio/first aid person for their main adult team. This is outside competition fees, referee fees, transport, equipment, maintenance and development of facilities to name but a few outgoings. Like all businesses, the more people get paid, the more will want to get paid and the more people will want to get paid in line with ever growing inflation.  Is this sustainable at club level? I don’t think so unless the rights for streaming club matches shoots up hugely and admission prices grow to almost unattainable levels.  Such moves would be in direct contrast with the reasons why the GAA was formed in the first place. Games would become less accessible to the masses. Is there even a population to support such moves, particularly in the smaller counties without a city population?

If we focus primarily on the club managers/coaches, we discover that over 90% of them come from outside the Parish, in all codes at this point. But for every one of them there is probably dozens of similar people within the club/parish who would love the opportunity and honour to take the highest manager/coaching role within their own club.  However, for so many of them there will never be that opportunity.  They never made it on to the circuit. They had real life jobs that didn’t allow them the time to pursue a “course” in sports development.  Some may have great knowledge but lack confidence. Their club preferred to invest the coaching budget in people from outside the club/parish rather than within.  They didn’t have success with an underage team in the club, so they must be useless ignoring the fact that the genuine ones focused on developing as many players as possible and giving chances to as many as possible, the masses as envisaged by the founders of the GAA. I believe that deep down the vast majority of underage coaches in a club do have ambitions to coach/manage at the highest level in their own club.  They may not say it out loud, because they know they are not in the right clique, do not have the right term on the CV and such ambitions would be laughed at, in public. Nobody wants to be laughed at by their neighbour.

The mad thing is, some can go to other clubs in the same way as outsiders come to their club and get paid! Because if you pay for something it must be “very good”.  What use is anything you get for “free”? This is the general attitude out there amongst growing numbers of club executives. The man/woman who comes from another club is brilliant, not withstanding the fact that their own club won’t let them next or near their own team.  The gas thing is the “outsider” is primarily there for the money and their own reputation. Pride of the Parish does not come into it although it is essential for the performance. Yes, sometimes its small money and it’s just about trying to build that reputation for future roles and get your name on the circuit, which is relatively small and elite, though not necessarily in quality.   I have never known an “outside” manager/coach to be heartbroken after leaving a club. They are good at the overall stage performance when they quit of their own accord in the aftermath of a championship exit. That’s part of the package, the exit performance. Some walk the minute the final whistle sounds and perform brilliantly in the dressing room aftermath to win mass empathy. Very few leave quietly with the dignity of Brian Cody**, a man who was well entitled to sing about his achievements. You can be sure they are on the lookout for a new suitor in weeks if not days. Their pride was not in the parish but in themselves. The ones that are shown the door, certainly have no Pride of the Parish. Their bitterness will be apparent when you meet them at a later stage, but not bitter as in disappointed to be gone from a dream job, but rather bitter in that the reputation has been tarnished.

The GAA is built on volunteerism. Now for more and more prestige jobs, the volunteer is no longer welcome. The volunteer upon which the success of the GAA is built. However, that same volunteer is expected to fundraise with growing amounts now being channeled into “outside expertise”. To pay for roles that they would gladly volunteer. In my experience, the most horrible part of volunteering is fundraising. Yes, sometimes the actual end event can be a magnificent social occasion. However, the organisation and time involved is not a fun pastime.  Not something many like doing in the free time from their day job. More and more it doesn’t end with a great social occasion with more and more raffles and lotto being the fundraiser of choice. Is this really the pastime the volunteer wants? Fundraise in the hope that your club/parish wins the championship.  No matter how many “outside” managers/coaches are brought in, only one of them can win the championship in a single year. Some clubs go decades without that elusive success at the top adult level. The reality is that every club’s ambition (should be) is to win senior (the highest level) in their county.  There are only 32 of them per code in the country each year. Many clubs have never won it. Many have not won it for a long time. Many are several levels below even competing for it. However, every individual pinnacle ambition should be striving to achieve it and not how much you get for helping opponents along the way.  Payments are for jobs, not a key component of enjoying “traditional, indigenous sports and pastimes”. Most of all, its is a pastime and should be enjoyed whether you are a player, a coach, an administrator or a supporter.

Joe Brolly is right in raising the subject, but his focus is not necessarily completely right.  And to be pedantic Joe, it’s Games and not just a game. Games that are played by both genders, coached by both genders and administrated by both genders at all levels. The debate should not just be about the players but rather all who want to enjoy our games (the masses) but cannot because their CV is not containing the right buzz words, or their invoice does not have the right heading on the paper.  Maybe there is a role for professionalism across all strands of the elite level (inter-county), but it is hard to see this genuinely existing at the lower Club levels.

Soccer or Association Football is a massively professional and monetary generating game in England. Yet there are thousands upon thousands of junior or Sunday league clubs in existence who fully rely on volunteers to survive. It is their hobby, their pastime where the vast majority dream they are playing or involved in big Premiership games, even though it might only be a local league final. Ultimately it gives them enjoyment which is fundamental for the success of any pastime. A chance to live their dream on a relative stage.  If voluntary clubs are the foundation of English soccer where there is obscene wealth at the elite level, common-sense should apply in similar circumstances in our games when it comes to professionalising them at the lower levels.

The time is ripe for a discussion across the GAA structures. The horse is bolting but we (the GAA as a whole) might be able to lasso it in time. It should take place in each local club outside of AGM’s and executive committee meetings.  Involve the parish.  For some it will be a first step in restoring the Pride of the Parish, intertwining the community and the club to it’s maximum once again. I know there are many people with great thoughts who are too shy or lack confidence to express them to their neighbours in the Community. Club executives need to find innovative ways to untap the potentially wonderful thoughts of all in their community. Then they need to find ways to pursue and move the findings through the democratic structures of the GAA, which do exist but often are not used correctly.

Pride of the Parish.  Club and community in harmony, is just as essential as it was on the 1st November 1884, when the GAA was founded at Hayes Hotel, Thurles.  Let’s not forget why the GAA is…

This is a huge subject with so many angles and this article touches on some of it.  All opinions are my own, but hopefully it generates the seed of thought. Primarily I’m a writer who loves the GAA, especially Kilkenny or maybe I’m a GAA person who loves to write. You can make your own mind up. If you would like to discuss this article, please feel free to leave a comment or email me at seamusdnorris@gmail.com.

** As this is my first blog in a while, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian Cody for the many wonderful times over the years while he was manager of the Kilkenny Senior Hurlers. Brian, you were an inspiration to us all and allowed us in Kilkenny to enjoy our pastime to the extreme level of enjoyment on so many occasions. You were a genuine and ultimate Pride of the Parish role model. I’m guessing you don’t “follow me” but hopefully somebody will pass this on.

 

 

Posted on No Comments on LOVE IN LOCKDOWN LIVE!!

LOVE IN LOCKDOWN LIVE!!

I feel I should be shouting that title, like a commentator on Sky Sports before a match.   Love in Lockdown… Live!!!

Yes, it has been a while since I added to this blog, so with the live performance of Love in Lockdown which features my own play “Power Of Love” due to be performed at the Home Rule Club in Kilkenny from the 5th to the 7th May (8pm), what better time to throw a few words together and ask for your support.  The live performance has been a long time in the planning, but it is finally almost upon us.  Tickets are available at Eventbrite Love in Lockdown: LIVE Tickets, Thu 5 May 2022 at 20:00 | Eventbrite  Get your tickets early. You won’t be sorry. It will be one of four plays on the night.

The live version has a new director in Dubliner, Ger Blanch who has previously worked with Fishamble.  Paul McManus from Carlow Little Theatre reprises his role as Sammy. He is joined by another Carlow Little Theatre actor Michelle Phelan, both fresh from performances in Juno and The Paycock. Everyone is really buzzing and again huge thanks to Philip Hardy and Barnstorm Theatre Arts for the production. They have been amazing.

I would also like to thank KATS theatre group who recently did a reading of another of my plays called the “The Sub” at John Cleeres in Kilkenny as part of their Scriptease program.  The play is based around the other favourite pastime of my life, the GAA and tells the story of a match from the perspective of one of the substitutes.  Hopefully, this play too can be brought to life on the stage sometime down the road. Massive thanks to Delia Lowery, Hugh Keenan and all those involved in the reading from KATS.

With the lockdowns finished (for now at least) it’s really a busy time with the arts, the GAA and making sure I relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of life that I did enjoy during lockdowns.  Time has become challenging again, but I am determined to control as much as possible and take those breaks away to savour life and the world. I hope you are too.

Posted on No Comments on DUAL PLAYERS DOUBLE WINNERS 2021

DUAL PLAYERS DOUBLE WINNERS 2021

Piltown Under-12 girls GAA players had the historic distinction in 2021 of winning both the Ladies Football and Camogie “A” county Championship titles in Kilkenny.  A fantastic achievement for the players and the team managements.  The achievement made many people very proud and very happy, parents, grandparents, siblings, club officers and coaches.  I was especially happy and proud as two of the key team management were my daughters, Lisa (Ladies Football) and Jennifer (Camogie). I admire the dedication and enthusiasm they brought to it and along with the other members of the management, the great way they had with dealing with the players.  I loved, their attention to detail and watching and listening their planning and preparation for matches. The time off the pitch in preparatory mode, was just as much as the time on the pitch.  Their appreciation of being dual players themselves was evident in games approach.  At times I may have been a sounding board, which I enjoyed, but the achievement was all theirs along with their fellow management team members of Sandra Quinn, Pauline Coady and Kevin Barry and of course the players of both teams. Extra credit to Sandra who was involved with both teams.

Under-12 is young and not intended to be competitive, although tell that to any of the players and some of the parents.  However, I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that both management teams used every opportunity to develop the girls as players and good people, keep them challenged, ensure enjoyment and provided plenty of game time for every single player throughout the competitions.  This was the managements greatest achievement, more so than winning the competitions.

For these girls, in this year, they have achieved the ultimate. They could win no more.  This is a feat that they can only ever equal. Even if they go on to win All-Ireland Senior Club titles in a single year. even though it will feel much bigger, the measurement will be the same. The reality is, although they have the potential of winning huge in Camogie outside the county, unfortunately, the same in football is unlikely due to the status of football in Kilkenny. However, every achievement in football will take on greater significance in the whole scheme of things as the challenge will be that much greater, especially outside the county. 

The challenge to maintain that momentum, will grow exponentially year on year.  There will be so many hurdles and distractions; Academic and career ambitions and choices, relationships and health are standard obstacles as people develop in sport.  Within the sport, continued enjoyment, varying management and coaching philosophies, opponent development, attitude and involvement in other sports and activities and the challenges of elite (inter-county) sport will all serve to make the journey of attaining the maximum results annually, near impossible.  To have any hope of maintaining the potential shown, it will take a lot of joined up thinking and planning by all parties involved now and in the future. Both Camogie and Ladies Football working together with coaches and administrators and parents over the immediate future years.  Parents, did not achieve what their daughters achieved and in general will have no concept of what is required to continue that in the future with a view to those days that will feel even bigger than those enjoyed in 2021. In fact, most coaches will not know either as this is a first for Piltown. Slaughtneil in Derry comes to mind as being one of the few who might have an insight. Time planning how to face the challenges may be just as productive from a development point of view as time spent working in gyms and progressing the skills.

As for the matches, both finals bore testament to the character and resolve of the players and of course their managements.  Wonderful foundation to have for the challenges that lie ahead. Although the football team had been tested along the way, they could not have foreseen the huge test from Thomastown in the final.  First of all, the challenge of going to the lion’s den had to be overcome.  Then a tit for tat battle took place on the pitch.  Thomastown led by a point coming down the home straight but Piltown had the courage to equalise and bring proceedings to extra time.  Within a minute of the start of extra time, Thomastown nudged ahead with a point.  Then came a tsunami finish from Piltown.  Although the girls had played so many games, day after day, it stood to them as they had the stamina built to combine with the confidence to get over the line by a four-point winning margin.  The Camogie team had a different route to the final. To be fair they weren’t really put to the sword.  They had cruised through.  Cruising is alright until something goes wrong, such as an early injury to a key player.  It was a slight rattle, but the ship balanced again, and Piltown looked like they were in control against a battling John Lockes. Then another iceberg was hit when a penalty was given just before half time. It unnerved the team and when two more goals followed just after the break, the Camogie team was in uncharted territory. However, they just need time to compose themselves and a small break to go their way.  It eventually did and again the girls’ stamina and character shone through as they cruised yet again in the final quarter for a 11-point victory.  Again, similar to the football, the amount of games played by the players was not an obstacle to success. Maybe there is something in the World Health Organisation recommendation for physical activity in children and adolescents aged 5-17 years.

  • Should do at least an average of 60 minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous intensity, mostly aerobic, physical activity, across the week.
  • Should incorporate vigorous-intensity aerobic activities, as well as those that strengthen muscle and bone, at least 3 days a week.
  • Should limit the amount of time spent being sedentary, particularly the amount of recreational screen time.

We listen to them (WHO) for COVID-19 instruction, so why not when it comes to physical activity. Some people say or think children and/or adolescents do “too much”. The reality is that “too much” is a lot and very few reach it.  

Whatever, happens, I hope the players are allowed build on the great foundation and go on to be great role models like those who built the foundation.

Posted on No Comments on POWER OF LOVE

POWER OF LOVE

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Will lockdowns finally end? Everyone has tried to find ways to get through these challenging times.  I have returned to writing fiction in various forms and more comprehensively. The end product of one such project will be streamed live this Thursday 29th April at 7:30pm on Zoom.  (Details at the end of this blog)

I have been lucky that a short play of mine has been produced by the Kilkenny based Barnstorm Theatre Company.  The theme is “Love In Lockdown” and my play is called “Power of Love”.  It is a project that started in the latter quarter of 2020 and the approximately 15-minute duologue is part of ten similarly selected and diverse writings to be performed. The first five of which were streamed in March. They had originally been planned to be performed on St. Valentines week.  Unfortunately, restrictions played havoc with that plan.

Filming took place on Saturday and went very well considering all but one rehearsal took place over Zoom/Teams and it is a single camera to give a theatre feel. It’s a wonderful idea to bring theatre to people given that people cannot go to the theatre. So, if you are looking for something novel to pass the lockdown time, please use the link to the live streaming. It will also be available on the Barnstorm Theatre Company YouTube channel afterwards if you miss the live performance on Zoom. There are also plans to broadcast on radio and do live performances when restrictions lift. Hopefully you will enjoy it and I look forward to your reactions and reviews on here afterwards.

I would like to thank the Barnstorm Theatre Company for the opportunity. No script is complete until it has been interpreted in real life. It has been a very gratifying experience.  Special thanks to Philip Hardy, Cara Doherty and Maeve Ingoldsby for their invaluable advice and experience during the script writing phase. A lot has been learned.  I would like to thank Trish Brennan of the Barn Owl Players who directed it brilliantly and maintained the integrity of the story I was telling whilst also making it an entertaining piece of theatre.  Also, thanks to two brilliant Carlow based actors, Carrie Doran and Paul McManus who brought the characters to life with great understanding and enthusiasm whilst overcoming the challenges of the new way of doing things.

I am genuinely excited about this and look forward to audience reaction, good or bad. I describe it as a romantic comedy with a dark side, but it could be a dark comedy with a romantic side. It’s open to interpretation.  The story is about Ella and Sammy who are two Gardai based in Kilkenny that have history. However, time is running out for Ella and things need to be said. Their long-time attraction to each other has been blighted by obstacles and fears of social etiquette, loyalty and age difference. Dramatic and potentially catastrophic circumstances put them together in a situation where only the truth matters. Are they literally sitting on a timebomb that will destroy their lives forever or will there be enough time to connect?

Check out Barnstorm Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/barnstormtheatrecompany/posts/405824590759224

Love in Lockdown 2
Time: Apr 29, 2021 07:30 PM Dublin
ZOOM LINK.
Meeting ID: 826 8839 0764
Passcode: 594503